Published in:2007
Pages:304
Edition: Paperback
Back cover:
In this exciting collection, bestselling authors Meg Cabot (“How to Be Popular”), Kim Harrison (“A Fistful of Charms”), Michele Jaffe (“Bad Kitty”), Stephenie Meyer (“Twilight”), and Lauren Myracle (“ttyl”) take bad prom nights to a whole new level–a paranormally bad level. Wardrobe malfunctions and two left feet don’t hold a candle to discovering your date is the Grim Reaper–and he isn’t here to tell you how hot you look.
From angels fighting demons to a creepy take on getting what you wish for, these five stories will entertain better than any DJ in a bad tux. No corsage or limo rental necessary. Just good, scary fun.
My review:
Okay, it’s an anthology, so it’s short, sweet, and not really all that good. But the fun thing about anthologies is that you tend to find an author or two you’ve never read before, and that actually is pretty awesome. Or a series that you wanna check out- which yes, I am so totally now hunting down a series based on the introduction in this book to said characters of series.
So the first one, “The exterminator’s daughter” by Meg Cabot. Well, it’s an okay story. The boy and girl figure out that hey, they suddenly have feelings for one another. The big bad vampire is intricately weaved into the girl’s life and family. And there’s a big shoot-up at the prom. I didn’t really rate it.
“The Corsage” by Lauren Myracle. It’s basically a take on any number of wish stories- genie wishes, the monkey-paw that grants wishes, etc. But it’s with a corsage, and the wish is for a prom date. Yawn. Predictable storyline.
“Madison Avery and the Dim reaper” by Kim Harrison. I was weary going into this one, as the other Kim Harrison book I read, I really hated. But this… this was seriously good. Great even. fantastic. The grim reapers are good, or evil, but then there’s this unseen third version that pops up, and Madison becomes perhaps like it, or something all-together new, who knows. It was fun to read, interesting, and I really, really enjoyed it. I am gonna go hunt down the Madison Avery series (Which I know exists), as this is a series I actually look like I might enjoy. I always love something that’s a little bit different, a little odd, quirky even, and this series might be just that.
“Kiss and tell” by Michelle Jaffe. This was quite the random little number, and I surprisingly liked it. It’s got a superhero feel to it, and I like it how the hot guy whose actually an asshole bad guy, got his comeuppance. Plus the characters were quite fun, if a little strange. I would like to know more about their backstories, perhaps have them explored more as characters. I wonder if there is a series related to this at all? Because I would definitely be interested in that!
Lastly, “Hell on earth” by Stephenie Meyer. You know, it just doesn’t sound like her. It doesn’t have her style of writing, her voice per say. Reading it, I didn’t even realise she was the one who was written it. Not until just this moment when I glanced at the contents page and saw the author. It’s an okay story, I like how there’s the demon and the angel, and that the demon is basically making the prom suck ass. It could be an interesting story to explore more fully, now that I think about it.
So really, the anthology starts off weak, but then gets some real winning stories going, until a bit of a humdrum end. I really am surprised that Stephenie wrote the last story, it just doesn’t sound like her style of writing at all. Ah well.
Final review:
Prom nights from hell rating:6/10. It wasn’t startling, it wasn’t exciting, but the two stories I did like made up for the two stories I didn’t, with the last one being just middle-of-the-road.
Would I re-read it?Dunno really. Perhaps the stories I liked. I guess that’s the good thing about anthologies, you can find the stories you like and read them again, and they are short, so it won’t take too long.
Who would I recommend it to?Teenage girls. It’s about prom, who else is it going to be aimed at?
Links:
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/557332.Prom_Nights_from_Hell
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Prom-Nights-Hell-Stephenie-Meyer/dp/006125309X
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prom_Nights_from_Hell
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